


royally in love

by spritzerr



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adam (Voltron) Deserves Better, Allura & Lance (Voltron) are Siblings, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Fluff, Gen, Hugs, KUDOS FOR ADAM, Kissing, Lot of hugs, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron) is So Done, Socially Awkward Keith (Voltron), because he had to babysit keith, believe me u wouldn't want it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:40:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26322046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spritzerr/pseuds/spritzerr
Summary: Lance and Keith are messy Princes who both don’t know how to express feelings. Adashi is pretty much tired.That’s it, that’s the point.
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron), and they are all friends ya know
Kudos: 50





	royally in love

**Author's Note:**

> OmG IT’S HAPPENING I WROTE IT  
> i like it  
> hope you do too  
> ENJOY!!

It all started during the ball that was held in King Shirogane’s kingdom. Nothing unusual was about to happen, Keith wanted to leave as much as he always did. Balls were never his cup of tea, not even a little. His brother, Takashi, always enjoyed them, especially because he could spend time with Adam, his ‘friend’, as he kept saying, but it was a fact that they’ve got an affair. Keith knew about it, but didn’t tell his brother, because he didn’t really want to embarrass him. Still, he laughed at the way Takashi was acting around Adam, all flustered and stuttery, way too intense for being  _ just friends _ .

Still, even though watching Takashi was pure fun, Keith couldn’t find any particular reason to stay at this idiotic party. He took his seat on the top of a small table at the side of the ballroom, trying to remain unnoticed. He knew it was a highly inappropriate behavior, but at least he could be a little more comfortable than while he was sitting on one of these extremely hard chairs his father somehow liked.

He pulled the frill of his dirty white, almost beige shirt he’d stolen from Takashi. Well, he couldn’t stand all the shirts his father made him wear, as they were all impossibly tight and uncomfortable, and Keith would’ve sworn he could barely breathe while wearing them. Takashi had a few casual ones, just like the one Keith had on then, so Keith decided he won’t see one of them missing. He was right, as Takashi was way too focused on Adam to notice anything happening around him.

“What were you told about sitting on tables?” He heard a deep voice right behind his ear and it caused him to screech weirdly and jump slightly. Of course, Takashi  _ loved to  _ sneak like that when Adam wasn’t around anymore, just like that time.

“Who are you, my dad? You can’t, you’re seven,” he sighed, laughing quietly at his own joke. Everyone in the castle was messing around with Shiro because of his birthdate, which was twenty ninth of February, iconic as it is. “Can I go outside?”

“What!? No!” Takashi acted offended as ever. “Try and have fun, it’s not that hard!”

“If you have your lover around, sure it’s not hard,” he laughed again, knowing he should stop teasing his brother about  _ everything _ . “Don’t deny it, I know about the affair you’ve got with Adam, it’s not that  _ hard _ to notice.”

“Nevermind! Besides, have you seen Prince Garrett tonight?” It was Shiro’s weird quirk, he enjoyed talking about other people, just as if he was looking for the right partner for his brother, but it was harder than it seemed to be. Keith would find countless excuses not to talk to people, just so he could spend time with himself, only.

Right, Prince Hunk Garrett looked stunning that night. His bangs, usually split up in two, was brushed back, showing his dark forehead. Instead of a bandana he wore on more casual days, he’s got a little tiara tucked into his hair. It was gold, with a little, dark orange gem, looking a lot like Keith’s one, which he didn’t wear often. More like, never. Even then, at the ball, he held it in his hand, because wearing it on his head when he wasn’t even dancing was absolutely useless.

Back to Hunk, he wore one of these weird, perfectly white shirts with a collar that almost touched his chin. Instead of a small cloth most men used with this type of clothing, he had a ribbon tied up as a bow, probably a gift from his beloved, Shay. His coat reached his hip and looked like it was made out of gold. It was glowing impossibly brightly, also having a few white buttons to use whenever it was getting too cold. Under it, he had a simple, light brown vest, with Balmeran print, so it must’ve been another piece from Shay.

Keith couldn’t say that this guy wasn’t handsome, because he was, but still, he didn’t find it okay to hit on a taken, plus, straight boy.

“Oh, no, you don’t! No way you’re pairing me up with Garrett,” He finally answered his brother. “Yeah, he looks awesome tonight, but you know he’s got a girlfriend, besides, he doesn’t even know me!” It wasn’t the whole truth, actually.

Hunk didn’t know Keith  _ in person _ , but he heard about him a lot, because he was, obviously, part of the Shirogane Royal Family. Keith would like to not be a part of it, but that’s where he was born, even if he didn’t ask for it, so he didn’t have actually much to say about it.

“Yeah, but you could make some friends,” Takashi was stubborn as hell, so Keith knew he will have to do what he said, but maybe not at this exact moment.

“Let’s meet The Royal Family of Altea!” A man announced, then introduced King and Queen, who entered the room, followed by everyone’s cheering. Then, he moved the light to the pair behind them, returning to speaking. “Princess Allura and Prince Lance!” That was right the time when Keith almost fell down the table.

“Oh my God, Takashi—” he whispered, looking at the boy that had just come in and begun talking to Prince Hunk. “Who  _ the hell  _ is he?”

He couldn’t say the man wasn’t pretty, because he was,  _ oh my God he was, _ not only pretty, but absolutely stunning, even better than Garrett, and if anyone looked better than him, then they had to be a God himself, there was no other option.

“Oh, that’s Lance, Garrett and Holt’s friend,” Takashi responded, smirking slightly. He knew exactly what was coming, and couldn’t wait until his brother says something else. “I think you should go and talk to him.”

“No way! He will think I’m a creep,” he whisper yelled while he continued staring at the boy.

His shirt looked a lot like Keith’s one, but it didn’t have these frill-like ends of the sleeves, showing Lance’s tanned hands and a few rings, visible even from afar. Also, said shirt was a lot whiter than Keith’s, but it looked way better with Lance’s blue jacket. It had a lot of silvery glitter on the shoulders, but it looked absolutely awesome, even if Keith wasn’t any fan of these kind of accessories. He suddenly pulled out the black gloves and put these on, which made no sense, but Keith still admired his every move.

His royal blue cape, a little darker than his jacket, was attached to his figure by two brown shoulder pads, which looked a lot comfier than Keith’s, because his one was being held only by one shoulder pad and he felt like it was constantly falling off.

“Come on! You can always say you came to see Pidge,” Takashi’s got a point, like he almost always did. Keith knew Pidge, or Katie, rather well, so it was funny that she didn’t introduce him to Hunk, her best friend. “Take this,” he handed his brother a crystal glass full of wine.

“Liquid courage, really?” He interrupted Takashi, who was already opening his mouth to introduce said ‘courage’, but Keith wasn’t willing to hear this again. “It’s not like getting drunk and acting like an idiot will help me make him fa—” he realized he said way too much, but it still didn’t stop Takashi from laughing like a mad man. Keith decided to take the glass anyway, deciding that nothing bad is gonna happen.

“Matt!” Shiro suddenly yelled, running towards his younger friend, who was, by the way, Pidge’s older brother. Keith really wanted to call after Takashi, but he disappeared within seconds and it would be highly unprofessional to shout in the middle of the ball and draw everyone’s attention to himself.

He still managed to reach Shiro, but unfortunately, after he got to Matt, so Keith had to introduce himself. More likely, Takashi introduced his brother, as Keith stood there, balancing his glass, so he doesn’t spill it all over himself.

“That’s my brother, Keith. I have no idea how come you’ve never met before, but here we are,” he said, glancing all over the ballroom to find Adam.

“Fuck!” He yelled suddenly, when a bit of wine spilled on the floor. “Nice to meet you, Matt,” he answered then, too ashamed to look the other boy in the eyes.

“He swears, I like him! Pidge will like him, too! Come on, Keith!” Matt, who seemed to forget that his sister already knew Keith, dragged him by his wrist, and Keith offered Shiro one, deadly glance, before he lost him from view. “Bye, Shiro!” he called after his friend, speeding to his sister and her friends, that included, of course, Lance.

Keith really began hating Takashi now, he did that on purpose, there was no other option.

“Hey, shitheads!” Matt ‘greeted’ them, but then faced Prince Garrett. “And Hunk. I wanna introduce our new friend! This is Keith, Shiro’s younger brother,” he introduced Keith, who felt his cheeks begin burning.

But first, he took a quick glance at Pidge. She looked great, in a beige dress with green, laced sleeves. She’s got a loose shirt on her shoulder, probably Matt’s, as it was way too big on her. Keith also noted that Pidge wasn’t wearing heels, just usual slip-ons, similar to Keith’s, but smaller.

Still, his eyes were mostly focused on Lance, who’s smile was brighter than anything Keith’s ever seen before.

“Hey, Keith, we already know each other, right? Still, hope my shithead brother didn’t tell you anything bad about me,” Pidge spoke first, offering Keith a hand to shake. It was men’s manner apparently, but Keith didn’t question it. She could do whatever she pleased and he had nothing to say about it. “It’s weird you haven’t met my friends before, as you’ve probably seen me around with Hunk here,” she patted said boy’s shoulder.

“Um, yeah, I’m Hunk, it’s nice finally meeting you in person,” Prince Garrett said, smiling widely and turning his emerald ring a few times. “You’re quite famous here, almost a legend. You know, you never dance or show up on balls, plus, you’re Shiro’s brother, so it’s obvious,” he stated, but Keith didn’t really hear half of it. He didn’t realize how many rumors he caused, unintentionally, of course.

“I’m Lance, it’s nice seeing you around, pretty boy,” the last person said, winking at Keith, who began drinking his wine like crazy to hide his new forming blush. Pidge slapped Lance, because flirting wasn’t the good manner he should be showing, but he didn’t mind at all. “It’s actually my first time here, my sister was invited and I came as a ‘backup’, as they say, but nevermind. It was worth coming here if I get to see such a beauty,” he finished, smiling even wider than before, if that was actually possible.

“Lance, can you  _ stop  _ flirting with the prince, for fuck's sake,” Pidge reprimanded him, because she at least knew how you should act when you’re at the castle.

“It’s… okay, I guess?” Keith replied weakly, not being ready to interact with this boy yet. He was way too outgoing and single–minded for his liking, but Keith couldn’t say it was really a bad thing.

Keith felt like he was losing all the balance and his vision suddenly blurred, he had no idea what to do. He wanted to hell at Takashi for arranging all of this, because Keith was definitely not ready to be in the center of everyone’s attention now. His knees weakened, so he quickly placed the glass on the table, so it doesn’t break, as he felt he may drop it, because his fingers weren’t able to hold anything anymore.

He rubbed his face with both his hands, glancing at the ring on his thumb. Shiro gave it to him as it was family tradition, but Keith couldn’t think about it then. He exhaled heavily, noticing that Pidge’s mouth was constantly moving, but he couldn’t get any word she was saying.

“—anna hang out with us for a bit?” He got part of her question, but didn’t make any move to answer her. “Keith, you okay?” She asked then, genuinely concerned about her friend.

“I need some air, that’s all,” he finally found his voice, weirdly raspy and weak, not how it was supposed to sound. He felt ashamed of himself, but that’s what happened when he was at the ball, every damn time, and that was why he wasn’t fond of parties, at all. Maybe balls themselves weren’t this scary, but thought of all the people being here, crowded and loud, was scaring Keith the most.

“I’ll keep you company!” Lance rushed towards him, grabbing his shoulder tightly. Then, he felt ashamed of himself for acting so, well,  _ him _ . “If you don’t mind, of course,” he corrected, but still didn’t let go of Keith’s arm, as he looked like he was gonna fall down without any support.

“The balcony is this way,” Keith gestured on his left, so Lance immediately guided him that way.

It was weird, being led by such a pretty person, hearing his breath, just being near him. Keith got overwhelmed only by the looks of this boy, but he somehow felt like it was only gonna get worse when they will start talking in private.

“Hey, I probably made a terrible first impression, sorry about that,” he sounded completely sincere, Keith was about to lose it. “I feel this weird need to show off around my friends, so sorry if I offended you in any way,” then his eyes got stuck on Keith’s face. ”You want to sit down?” He asked, voice soft, looking worried.

“Yes, please,” Keith whispered, shrugging a little as he sat on a bench with Lance by his side.

“Wow, you have a nice view on the stars from here!” Lance exclaimed, looking right at the sky. “Look, we don’t live far from here, only two towns apart, but our castle is facing a completely different direction. Have you ever stargazed? I do that a lot, especially with my sister, sometimes with Pidge, when her family comes to our castle,” he began rambling, but his voice was sweet and gave Keith nice vibes, so he just hummed as a sign that he’s listening, and let Lance talk. “It’s weird being here, I mean, I’m with my friends, they’re odd sometimes, but I love them. You look like you would fit with us, hope you’d like to hang out sometimes!” He clapped his hands like a child, but looked impossibly adorable then. “What happened to you, by the way?”

“Oh, you know—” Keith hesitated for a moment, but went with a flow, because his boy was too mesmerizing to ignore him. “I’m not used to talking to many people, you know, when everyone’s paying attention to me. I prefer being alone, I think, or with my brother, but not always,” _and I’m super gay for you._ He chuckled quietly, but then shivered as a cold wind blew in his direction.

“No offence, Keith, but your cape is stupid,” Lance stated, taking off the shoulder pads and removing his own cape from his shoulders. “Here, take this. It wouldn’t be nice to get sick because of the weather, right? Also, don’t forget to breathe deeply, your face is getting a little red.”

_ What the fuck, _ he noticed, Keith thought. He cursed under his breath, thinking about his  _ great  _ brother, Takashi, who caused all of this mess. Not that Keith minded spending time with Lance, but it was still unexpected and he wasn’t ready for this.

“Look, Keith, now I see why you don’t enjoy the balls. Well, I mean, I don’t, because there’s nothing not to like about it. You see, I can take you to dance, when you feel better, of course. We don’t want you to pass out in the ballroom. Not that I want you passed out somewhere else!” He began furiously gesturing with his hands, trying to excuse himself for using inaccurate words. “Don’t laugh at me! Oh, by the way, should I, by any means, refer to you as ‘Your Highness’ or something like that? Because, you know, I’m in your castle, so maybe— yeah, maybe I should talk to you nicer?”

Keith laughed softly, trying to tell if Lance was joking. But from his expression he could easily say that Lance was completely serious, and it only made things weirder. Why would anyone want to call him like that? Shiro was the one to rule this Kingdom one day, Keith would be his right-hand man at very best, so he really wasn’t anyone important. Not that it was bothering him, because he liked it that way, Lance just got him confused.

“No! I mean, no,” he scratched the back of his neck, trying to find all the missing words. I don’t really have a title here, besides being a prince, so it would be better just to stick with my name, like before.”

Just when things were about to be even better, someone decided to disturb, because people always know when to call somebody.

“I should get going,” Lance said. “I assume you don’t feel good enough to dance, but when you do, you know where to find me,” he winked, laughing, as he followed the voice back to the castle.

Keith stood there, looking once at the stars, then back at Lance, who moved around like he was dancing already, even if he was, in fact, just walking. Keith admired him more than anyone else, even if they have just met. Lance was a beautiful person, indeed, but this little conversation proved that he’s more than just a pretty face. Plus, his cape was nice and cozy… oh, shit, his cape!

“Lance—!” Keith called after him, already starting to take the clothing off of his shoulders. He saw the Altean prince stopped walking and looked back at him.

“You can keep it!” He showed thumbs up, smiling widely. “You’ll return it when we see each other!”

Keith couldn’t help but smile as well, because Lance said ‘when’ instead of ‘if’, sounding like he was sure that they’ll ever see each other again. The ballroom was huge, so Keith seriously doubted it, but if Lance said that, there was no other option but to trust him on that.

Keith finally understood what Shiro felt like when he was around Adam. He even thought it would be better to hide what he felt, so his brother doesn’t have anything to tease him about, but well, Keith felt like he was ready to explode, so there was no chance he wouldn’t tell anyone.

“Takashi! Takashi!” He began yelling at his brother, who was standing in the side of the ballroom, talking to Adam. Keith didn’t even mind his brother’s lover, as he might as well help him with his new found crush. “Takashi, I really don’t hate you anymore!” He smiled, when he finally made it to them.

“What a nice change, Keith,” Shiro chuckles, letting go of Adam’s hand.

“Have you even _ seen  _ him!?” He pointed at Lance, who now was trying to convince Hunk to dance with him.

“Who, Garrett?” Adam asks, trying to remember if said prince was even free. Probably not, but that wasn’t the real case.

“No,  _ Lance _ !” He immediately brushed his cheek over the blue cape, eyes filled with love. “Besides, you don’t have to act like friends, Jesus Christ, I know you’ve got an affair,” he added, right when both Adam and Shiro’s cheeks turned deeply red.

At the same time, Lance was happier than any time before. He was literally jumping around, unbothered if anyone paid attention to him. It didn’t matter at all, especially when he got to talk to that pretty guy, who turned out to be basically a host of this party.

“Hunk, I think I have a crush!” He yelled, but quietly enough not to make the whole ballroom hear him. He grabbed his friend’s hands and dragged him to the dance floor. “Wow, Hunk, I’ve never thought it’s gonna be like that!”

Pidge was playing around with her flying robot, called Rover, which she built with Matt a few years before. Lance thought it was insane, because why the hell would any of them need a  _ drone _ , like, it didn’t make any sense. Still, it turned out that they all could have much fun with Rover and this little creature became their friend, if a robot can be called like this.

“That’s nice, man,” Hunk replied, his eyes shut as Lance started spinning around with him. “He’s a legend though, mind telling me what he’s  _ actually  _ like? Pidge, come here!” He yelled, seconds before they all sat by the table, ready to hear Lance’s story.

“Well, you see, I thought he’s gonna be selfish and rude, because royalty and stuff, Marmora guys are rumoured to be weird,” he started, his eyes wide open as he began gesturing wildly. “But turned out he’s pretty cool! He doesn’t talk much, also he gave me a weird glance when I talked about stargazing, so I assume he’d never done it. Weird, but I’m gonna change it! Also, I managed to take care of him, he was pretty scared of the party, but I think I made him change his mind a little,” he rambled, but as much as he annoyed his friends, they loved him and let him talk about stuff he likes. “Also, I told him he would fit with us nicely, so I hope he will hang out with us sometimes!”

“Man, that’s cool!” Hunk said, being the most supportive friend ever.

Lance wasn’t even aware of the fact that Keith was watching him the whole time, not hearing a single word, but melting at the way Lance’s hands moved and his face lightened.

  
  


───────

  
  


“Takashi, I need your help!” Keith shouted, almost making the maid fall down, as he literally bumped into her. “I’m sorry, Miss!” He apologized quickly, as she was one of the few service staff people in the castle, and he didn’t want her to think that he’s selfish or anything like that.

He made his way to the side room, one of  _ many  _ in the castle. Shiro and Adam were sitting on the couch, a dark brown, leather one. They looked comfortable as ever, making Keith feel a hint of remorse, deep in his heart, but he couldn’t just go away right now, especially after he called for his brother already.

It’s been almost two weeks since the ball and Shiro has done many, probably way too many things for his little brother. First, he contacted Matt in order to get Lance’s address, so Keith could send letters to him. Second, he was listening to his brother rambling about this boy  _ every  _ day. Third, he promised he would teach him how to dance, but it stayed as a promise, and now Keith was going to change it.

“What’s up?” Takashi sighed, knowing exactly what will happen. Keith couldn’t talk about anything other than Lance since the day he saw him for the first time. Shiro knew it could’ve been him with Adam, but he promised himself he won’t tell anyone, but his brother turned out to be smarter than he thought.

“You promised to teach me how to dance!” Keith cried out, standing in front of his brother and his brother’s boyfriend. “And yes, before you ask, I’m going to wear your shirts until you finally start teaching me, as a punishment for you,” he explained, grabbing Shiro’s glass of wine and taking one sip from it.

“Jesus Christ, why do you keep bothering  _ me _ about it?” Shiro whined. He really started to be sick of his brother, who can be a real pain in the ass when he’s excited. And he’s not excited a lot, so he was absolutely  _ ecstatic  _ then.

“Fuck you,Takashi,” that was all Keith had to say about it.

“I can teach you,” Adam offered, wanting to rescue his boyfriend from his brother, who refused to give up.

He stood up, grabbing Keith’s hand and ordering Shiro to turn on some music, which ended up with Takashi almost breaking the gramophone, but, fortunately, no victims were found at the end. Everyone knew that Prince Wright, who now was practically living in Shirogane’s castle, was the best dancer in the whole Kingdom. He used to host dance classes, but stopped when his life got too busy. Still, Adam was the best person to teach you, especially if you didn’t have much time left, just like Keith.

Keith wasn’t a  _ terrible  _ dancer, at least for someone who tried real dancing for the first time in his life. Okay, he stepped on Adam’s shoes a few times, causing Shiro to literally cry from laughing, but it was great after all. Adam recalled when he was trying to make his boyfriend, friend at that time, dance and he  _ sucked _ . He was extremely, awfully, undoubtedly the worst dancer in the world, though he learnt things rather quickly.

“Shiro, he told me he wants to dance with me! But, like, I don’t know shit about parties, what the fuck am I supposed to do?” Of course, he had to start bothering his brother again, because his day was too good.and peaceful. “Yeah, Shiro,  _ are you even listening to me _ !?” Keith yelled at his brother, who got lost in his thoughts, probably looking like: ‘somebody  _ please _ get Keith out of here, now’ repeated over a thousand times.

“Of course,” a sudden yawn escaped his mouth. Shiro couldn’t lie, he was already getting tired of his brother’s pining. “General Kolivan came back from his mission, we’re hosting a ball tonight,” he said, realizing that he forgot to tell his brother before.

If Keith had been nervous before, now he was absolutely terrified. He knew that Kolivan, the greatest general and King’s close friend, went on a mission with his Blades, but Keith was so stuck in the Lance Situation that he completely forgot about their return. It was an important diplomatic mission, somewhere far away from the castle, but still, why did nobody tell Keith that this party was coming?

“What the  _ fuck _ —” he whisper yelled, making sure nobody other than Adam and Shiro heard him. “And what’s next, Takashi? You’ll tell me you already invited Lance, won’t you?” He asks, hoping his brother did, but at the same time being even more nervous than before.

“No,” Shiro answers simply, almost giving Keith a stroke.  _ How come he  _ **_didn’t_ ** _ do that!? _ “Adam did,” he pointed at his fellow boyfriend, who looked like he’d just committed a crime, which means, extremely funny.

“Oh my God, I’m doomed,” Keith mumbled, trying his best not to fantasize about Lance’s gorgeous eyes. He failed, by the way.

───────

The ball came quickly, as it was only a few hours left when Keith was talking to his brother and, hopefully, future brother–in–law. This time, it was way different. Purple decorations were  _ everywhere _ , emphasizing the Blades’ victory. Keith couldn’t get who thought that placing glitter anywhere would be even a particularly decent idea, but it was not the time to overthink such things.

Keith didn’t see any familiar faces, which was weird, because he took the best spot for staring, that is right by the door, so he could see everyone coming in and out of the ballroom. When Kolivan and his Blades’ crew entered, everyone began cheering and throwing compliments at them. Keith admired them from afar, secretly hoping that one day they would recruit him, but with every other day he started seriously doubting it.

“Hey, man!” Somebody placed their small hands on Keith’s eyes, sneaking to him from behind. He had no idea how he managed to miss someone coming in, as he didn’t leave the spot even for a second. “It’s me, Pidge!” The voice said, sensing Keith’s increasing panic. “You looked so sad standing there, so I decided to cheer you up for a bit! Don’t be so tense, man, we’re here to celebrate the victory!” Pidge turned him around, so now he was finally facing her.

“My brother is occupying Shiro, sorry about him,” she added, glancing at Matt, who was desperately trying to explain something to Takashi, who was clearly failing to understand. “Man, your brother is fucked being friends with Matt,” she laughed, slowly guiding Keith to the deeper sides of the ballroom. “It’s funny, because I see your brother would more likely spend time with Prince Wright.”

Keith chuckled when Pidge mentioned Adam, knowing that Shiro was clearly failing with acting like friends. It was only a matter of time before everyone would know about his affair. Keith did actually plan on spoiling it to the whole audience, but abandoned it after it turned out that Shiro was doing a good job with it himself.

“Hunk, hey!” Pidge called her friend, waving at him using her free hand, the other one still wrapped around Keith’s wrist. “Where’s the shithead?” She asked, casually looking around the room. Keith couldn’t believe how easy it was for her to insult her friends, besides Hunk, who was clearly the purest human being alive.

“Over there,” he pointed at Lance, who was dancing around on the dance floor. Keith thought like he was going to pass out, looking at this most beautiful boy ever.

He looked like he knew that he’s absolutely stunning, dancing with absolutely every person he could reach. His outfit was similar to the one he had two weeks ago, but Keith didn’t really pay attention to it. Lance’s smile was way more interesting, as much as his eyes. He couldn’t believe he got to talk and exchange letters with a person like him. His tiara was silver with a blue stone, unlike his sister’s — beautifully gold, showing that she’s the older one, getting to rule the Altean Kingdom one day, just like the situation with Keith and Shiro.

Lance turned to him, giving Keith the prettiest, widest smile he could, so Keith replied with a weak grin, as he wasn’t capable of anything else. Pidge watched them, laughing. She didn’t think her friend would ever fall for someone that hard and that soon. He was the flirty type, okay, but  _ this _ , PIdge could easily tell this was something more, even if Lance hasn’t fully realized it yet.

“Hey, what are we doing?” Matt chimed it, dragging Shiro right behind. Matthew Holt was known for coming in during the most unexpected moments, exactly like this one.

“Watching,” Pidge answered simply, slightly pointing at Lance, who began walking in their direction. She didn’t have to say anything else, only one word made Matt smile like crazy and whistle a few times, while Shiro was laughing under his breath. It all became even better when Keith’s face turned more pale than before, which seemed rather impossible, but here we are.

“Shiro, save me,” Keith mumbled, grabbing his brother’s sleeve and pulling him closer. “I can’t fucking dance!” He squeaked when Lance was still making his way to all of them. “It’s all your fault, Takashi! Yours and your stupid, lazy ass!” He started to loudly blame his brother. He got so busy with this that he didn’t even realize Lance was standing right in front of him. “Oh, hey—”

Lance didn’t even reply, he just tightly hugged Keith instead. He literally never cuddled, not even with his brother, so this gesture made him lose every hint of remaining courage he thought he had.

“Oh, okay— you hug people as greetings,” he spit out, somehow, feeling his chest tighten. Then he wrapped his hands around Lance’s waist, desperately trying to bury himself in the taller boy’s frame, as he could sense everyone looking at them without any slight hint of shame. He didn’t think his brother could ever be like that, but he didn’t care too much at that time, as he tried his best not to sob right into Lance’s shoulder. It wouldn’t be an acceptable behavior during the ball, especially when he knew people were going to pay more attention to him, because he was the Marmoran Prince after all.

“Blue suits you,” he heard a sweet voice whispering into his ear, then this weird shivering feeling down his spine. “Let’s go!” Lance quickly changed from his soft, gentle self to this excited boy, who just wanted to have a dance. Well, Keith wasn’t in the mood for denying, besides, he would never refuse to dance with Lance, even if he had no clue about it.

“Your muscles are too tense,” Lance noticed, placing a comforting hand on Keith’s back. “I know our relationship is probably moving too fast and I can’t lie, I like it, but Keith,” his breath was shaky, like his body was invaded by someone else, but Keith knew it was just this personal, caring side of Lance. “We don’t have to do this, if you’re not ready yet. I heard you yelling at Shiro, so, you know, we can leave now, and dance later, when you’re better prepared.”

Keith sighed softly, as he still couldn’t believe the Universe sent him such an amazing boy. Lance simply couldn’t be real, because Keith didn’t know people like him. But, well, it wouldn’t exactly be a great measure, as Keith knew only like eight people, counting in his parents.

“Come on,” Lance pulled him to the exit, following the lights on the ground in order to find the garden. “What the hell is this castle!? Why is this a fucking  _ maze _ ? I get Kolivan is a general here, but what? Man, our garden is a big, flat field without these crazy, maze-like corridors, I don’t understand this!” It probably wasn’t a good thing to insult hosts’ garden like this, but Keith didn’t mind. Not because it was Lance (though it mattered), but because this castle was a mess. Keith still didn’t know about every place in it and he’d been living in it for eighteen years.

“No!” Keith laughed, when Lance was about to turn left, which would lead him to the Kolivan’s Blades’ training square. “I bet the place you want to reach is this way,” he pointed at the barely visible path, the one only him and Takashi actually used.

They made their way to the grassland, heavily plopping down on the ground. Keith has just noticed that Lance wasn’t wearing his gloves that day. His hands appeared to be really soft and moisturized, but Keith couldn’t make a move to touch it.

“Well, despite being a maze,” Lance spoke, looking around. “Your garden is an extremely beautiful place.”

“Sure,” Keith answered, trying to prevent his voice from shaking or cracking. He promised himself this talk will be better than their first one, a lot better.

“So, you really have never been stargazing?” Lance lied down on the grass, feeling it with his bare hands. He did it a lot, especially when he was a little kid. Allura, his sister, showed him every constellation that could be seen from Earth and Lance fell in love with the sky.

“Never,” Keith shook his head, a small smile plastered to his face. “But I spoke with Kolivan about the stars. He told me that all the Marmoran people believe that each star is a lost human, the ones that shine the brightest are lost Blades,” he explained quietly, his eyes tearing up, but he refused to let them fall down his cheeks. It was supposed to be a happy day. “I think he may be right. I’ve always wanted to be Kolivan’s Blade,” he confessed, looking away from Lance’s face.

“You’re the prince, so, I guess, you could do anything you’d like?” Lance asked, because that was how things worked, at least how they were supposed to. But when he saw Keith’s face, he wasn’t as sure as he’d been only seconds earlier.

Keith looked awful, but somehow, really beautiful awful. The moonlight and a few lanterns illuminated his face, showing his eyes all red and watery. A weak smile could be seen as well, but it disappeared under his heartbroken expression.

“No,” he choked out, desperately trying to clear his throat even a bit. “Being a prince, also the youngest, means I can do nothing. They’ll never let me join the Blades, as the risk is too big. Also, Kolivan would never recruit me without my family knowing,” he sighed, burying his face in his arms.

Keith wasn’t used to showing his emotions, but it all felt more than natural with Lance around. He felt the taller boy’s lanky fingers scooping his cheek and wiping the tears away.

“Hey, no crying tonight!” He booped Keith’s nose with the other hand’s finger, smiling. “I know it can be a big deal for you now, but I think you would be better somewhere else, you just haven’t realized it yet,” then, the idea popped up and Lance lightened up more. “Come to me,” he opened his arms and encouraged Keith to curl up and let Lance hug him. “I will talk, if you don’t mind it.”

Keith, of course, didn’t mind it at all, because Lance’s voice was soothing and somehow calm, even if he was talking in the most energetic way. He couldn’t get why Pidge didn’t like Lance speaking, because Keith was sure he would love to listen to him every day.

“I love stargazing! You know, the stars make me think of my family and my friends, and this is the most amazing feeling ever. But, there’s one, unwritten rule about stargazing,” he stopped, adding a hint of drama to this statement. “You  _ must _ do it with people who mean a lot to you, who are just, well, important,” his laugh was the softest sound in the entire Universe, Keith had to admit. “So, it’s an honor I can be stargazing with you, Prince Mullet!”

Keith melted at the way Lance started stroking his hair. Usually, every kind of affection made him go crazy and feel rather bad, but this time it was all different, mainly because it was Lance. But it was not over. More like, it was only the very beginning.

“Hey, you never wear your tiara,” Lance pointed out, touching his own crown sitting on his head.

“My family is clumsy. We’ve got that from dad, so don’t tell anyone I told you!” Keith laughed, shifting in Lance’s arms and wiping some remaining, still not dried tears away from his cheeks. “You see, when Takashi had his rehearsal for our diplomatic meeting, his crown was falling from his head  _ all the time _ ! Adam had to stick it with tape on the back of Takashi’s head, so it didn’t fall during the meeting. It almost did, but he’s too ashamed to talk about it ever again,” Keith felt like he’d known Lance for years, so telling him some family stories came naturally. “I’m lucky I don’t have a crown, but my tiara is shitty anyways. It’s actually my third one, because I broke the previous two, don’t ask me how it happened, because I have no idea!”

Lance thought that he could be watching Keith smile and laugh for the rest of his life, if he only had an opportunity to do so. At least he had this night to try and make Keith the happiest boy in the Kingdom.

“Let’s do this,” he took off his own diadem and carefully placed it on the top of Keith’s head.

He giggled,  _ holy shit he giggled _ , and Lance just couldn’t take it anymore. This boy was the most gorgeous human being, and thank God he wasn’t crying anymore. Keith’s hair was pretty, even though it was oddly mullet shaped. Lance adored the way it curled at the ends, especially when Keith was putting it up in a tiny ponytail, just like the night they'd met. His eyes, almost violet, were still wet from tears, but sparkling with joy, just simply beautiful.

“We should head back to the castle,” Keith whispered, his cheek plastered to Lance’s shoulder. “My parents will be wondering why I’m not admiring the Blades, as usual.”

“Yeah, my friends are probably dying to know what’s so important that I’m not spending time with them,” he laughed, though he didn’t mind the current situation at all. “But, if I may say, this  _ is _ actually this important to be here instead of with my friends,” the cocky smile entered his face and Keith knew he was about to melt in seconds. “But, do you want to come back? It’s not always about your family, Keith. You should think about yourself in the first place, because nobody knows you as well as you.”

“I don’t want to go,” Keith answered sincerely, impressed by the influence Lance had on him. “I’d more likely spend some time with you. Stargazing seems nice, but  _ please _ , Lance, get your tiara away from me if you don’t want it damaged,” he carefully handed it back to Lance, trying his best not to break it in his hands.

“Then, I guess we’ll just stay here and admire the sky.”

Keith wanted to say that he’d more likely be admiring Lance’s facial features, but he wasn’t ready to do so. Instead, he just shifted again and clung closer to this living body heater.

───────

Keith was dying from stress that day.

It’s been a couple of months since he met Lance and they were hanging out often, mostly during parties, but sometimes on their own. Even though their first meeting outside the ball was organized by Shiro, Keith couldn’t say he wasn’t grateful for that. If his brother didn’t make a move, Keith would be stuck in his hopeless pining for even more time.

“Takashi, I hate him,” he stated, preparing a letter, in which he wanted to ask Lance, Pidge and Hunk to come and hang out like usual teenagers that they were. “Why does he keep acting like  _ that _ around me!? It’s so— so  _ frustrating _ !” He was complaining to his brother, who just wanted to leave this place and go to Adam. It could be cliché, but everyone would like that after days of dealing with their lovestruck, annoying younger sibling.

“You don’t hate him,” he answered patiently, thinking that maybe a quick talk will make Keith better, so he can finally go and spend some time with his own boyfriend.

“That’s the problem, Takashi!” Keith yelled, a bit impressed by his impossibly high–pitched voice. “I can’t just do things like you and Adam!”

“Why not?” Shiro asked, because what was actually stopping his brother? It wasn’t like Lance was against being closer to him than he’d already been, so what’s the problem here?

“Because— Because it’s him! Takashi, I can’t just do things so casually!” He whined, still sitting by this stupid letter, not knowing what he should actually include in it.

“Prince Keith,” Thace, royal advisor and almost an uncle of both princes, came into the room. “Princes Garrett and Serrano, as well as Princess Holt will be arriving in ten minutes,” he said, making Keith screech in disagreement.

“Excuse me,  _ what _ !?” He didn’t even point at Thace, but at Shiro, who started laughing like crazy. “Why would you do that!?” He yelled, but tried not to do it too loudly, so their mother won’t come to check what her sons are doing,  _ again. _

“Because you wouldn’t” Shiro answered simply, but decided to make his statement a bit longer, as he met his brother’s confused eyes. “You’ve been stuck with this letter for a few days, so I decided to help you out a bit. Keith, let’s face it, you would never invite  _ him  _ on your own, would you? Besides, you take all of my time because you’re  _ pining _ over a boy who’s practically flirting with you!” Keith began gesturing wildly as soon as Shiro said that. “Man, I don’t know if you know, but I’ve got a lover whom I’d like to spend time with!” Takashi didn’t want to sound like he was blaming his brother, but it just happened.

“Takashi!” Keith didn’t actually know what he should say, because his brother was right. Still, he didn’t have anyone to talk to, besides Adam, but it would be the same as ranting to Shiro, as he was this  _ lover  _ Takashi kept talking about.

“Your outfit needs adjusting,” Shiro noticed, making Keith literally die of nervousness. He wanted to look his best for Lance and now his brother was insisting that something was wrong. Keith couldn’t even argue with him, as he started to desperately look for anything that wasn’t quite right. “Look, it’s too formal,” Shiro continued, pulling Keith’s (Lance’s) cape with one hand. “You clearly don’t need this one, also, tie up your hair, it will make you look better.”

Keith grabbed a blue ribbon and began putting it on his hair, which was rather hard when his hands were shaking. The ribbon was a small gift from one of the Kingdoms they’d visited during their diplomatic meetings. Keith wasn’t usually attending them, because everyone kept insisting that he’s too young to do it, even though he highly disagreed with that.

Keith kept struggling with his hair, so Shiro decided to tie it up for him. He could be mad at his little brother sometimes, but he still knew how much Lance meant to him. Well, Shiro personally thought that Keith should just be  _ himself _ around Lance, but of course, his little brother couldn’t simply do that. He felt this weird urge to be his best self, even if it looked absolutely hilarious to the others.

“Shiro, I love you, but I see what you’re thinking,” he said when his brother began staring right at Keith’s shoulders. “I’m not taking the cape off, besides, I have to return it to Lance, it’s been way too long!” He squeaked as Thace entered the room again, with his arms folded right behind his back.

“Princes Serrano, Garrett, and Princess Holt are waiting in the corridor. Should I bring them here?” He asked, but Keith started to furiously shake his head.

“No, no, you don’t! I was leaving to meet them already,” he hesitated, looking back at Shiro, who gave him thumbs up and encouraged him to leave the room. That was what Keith really needed, because he couldn’t do anything without his brother. Now, Keith owed him everything, starting with letting Shiro finally spend some time with Adam, just the two of them.

Because Keith could do things on his own and the first of them was going to meet his friends, and Lance, whoever he was for him.

  
  


“Hey!” Pidge yelled so loudly that Keith was sure the whole castle heard her, but she didn’t mind. In her own Kingdom, Olkari, everyone knew about her weird habits and she bet that it was similar here, in the Marmora Castle, as she was visiting it quite a lot lately. “Oh my God, do you  _ ever _ take this cape off?”

“I wear what I want to,” he answered her, using the completely sarcastic tone, but it disappeared as soon as he saw Lance practically jumping from behind Hunk. This boy probably wanted to scare Keith to death more than anything else and he was  _ really  _ close to achieving it. “About that cape—” he slightly scratched the back of his neck as he felt Lance’s eyes staring right into his soul.

“Don’t worry about it, you rock it better than I did,” Lance pulled Keith in a tight hug, but this time warned him about it, so Keith could be at least a little more prepared than the first time. “What are we going to do, by the way? We can’t go stargazing, it’s barely afternoon!” He whined, desperately wanting to watch the stars with Keith. Obviously, he didn’t mind his friends, but Keith was different, Lance just knew it.

“Lance, what did I tell you about flirting?” Pidge didn’t seem to mind it, she just loved teasing her friend about his crush. Well, he kind of liked it, because it showed that she cared, in a weird, Pidge-like way, but still.

When Lance opened his mouth to say something, probably another odd pickup line, Hunk chimed in, just after a thought popping up in his brain.

“We can go explore the city,” he suggested, pointing at everyone's clothes at the same time. “We’re already dressed casually, so we can go  _ incognito _ , you know, as usual citizens!” He jumped, because as much as the royal life was great, he liked being treated like a casual person, not someone from aristocracy. “Yes, it will be hard, because we’re rather known, but it’s worth a try, right?” He rambled a little, but was overly adorable while doing so, that’s why nobody minded.

They walked out of the castle, followed by a few guards’ eyesight. Keith had to sign to them not to chase him and his friends, because the town wasn’t even half a mile away, so no need to look after them. They were just teenagers living their life at that time, no princes or princesses, just kids being happy together.

“This place is  _ awesome _ !” Lance shouted when they entered the market. He was right, it looked beautiful, people were smiling. They’re attitude was similar to Altean citizens, but Marmoran guys were different. There were many more sellers, also a lot of Blades casually walking around in their uniforms.

“God, Hunk, did you see this!?” Lance grabbed his friend’s wrist while both Pidge and Keith were staring at him weirdly.

“See what—” Prince Garrett tried to answer, but Lance was already dragging him to one stall.

After making sure that Pidge and Keith, especially Keith, don’t hear them, Lance started showing Hunk everything he found extremely beautiful. He didn’t include Keith, of course, but Hunk knew about that already, so anyways, no need to do such a thing.

“Look, this is perfect for Shay!” He picked up a small necklace with a glowing rock. It looked pretty similar to Balmeran jewellery, all natural and simple, yet still overly beautiful. “I’m getting it, it’ll be my gift for her, you know. And this, Hunk, it suits you so much!” He showed Hunk an orange cloth that could be transformed into a bandana, which was now necessary as Garrett’s hair grew out lately. “Oh, and these! I have no idea what these are, but they look like Matt and Pidge would like them,” he pointed at two weird communicators that looked like mini computers, Pidge would definitely know how to use those. When it came to the last two things, he laughed softly. “Keith will most definitely hate me for it. I’ll take all of these,” he smiled at the old lady seller, handing her money, which was like, two times the price he was supposed to pay, but he politely refused to take change.

Hunk smiled as Lance led him back to Pidge and Keith, who stood at the same spot they left them, still confused. Lance was, of course, annoying, but he always thought about his friends, just like that time.

“Hey, I got you all presents!” He chuckled sweetly, handing Hunk his and Shay’s gifts, then moving on to Pidge, who randomly started jumping around and rambling about how awesome the communicators are.

Lance used the newly formed opportunity to drag Keith behind one of the shops, because he really wanted to hand him his gifts in private. That’s because, well, one of the presents will definitely draw some attention at them, so Lance wanted to enjoy every remaining second of their anonymity.

“Look, it goes around your head, so it will be impossible to break it!” Lance excitedly presented him a simple tiara that was painted silver. He doubted that it was this, probably just steel, but it only made it more immune to Keith’s destroying powers. “Also, look at this! This ring matches your family one, but is like, smaller? Doesn’t draw attention that much, but I think it looks nice,” Lance continued, placing both items on Keith, who shivered slightly when the Altean Prince’s fingers touched his skin.

“Why do you do that?” Keith asked, turning the new ring around his middle finger. Lance looked at him confusingly, so he spoke up again. “I mean, the gifts. I’m not trying to say that me or your friends don’t appreciate it, because we all clearly do. I just don’t understand, is this some sort of tradition? Do you always give each other presents in Altea? Like, without  _ warning _ ? Or maybe, I don’t know, this is how you show emotions? I don’t understand this,” he looked Lance in the eyes, and the Altean teen had a hard time trying not to laugh. Keith looked absolutely adorable, so Lance fought the sudden urge to kiss him.

“You’re funny, but it’s none of those. I just like giving presents to people that are important to me. Also, yeah, we don’t give  _ warnings _ before we gift someone, what even is a warning in this case,” he, again, pulls Keith in a tight hug, causing the other boy to desperately gasp for air.

“You can’t just— just do  _ this  _ without a  _ warning _ !” Keith yelled at him, but leaned for his touch anyways. “Are all Alteans like this!? Do you always show affection  _ this  _ way? What about meetings, do you greet each other by  _ kissing _ or what?”

“No! We’re actually pretty distant,” Lance answered, knowing that Keith most likely won’t believe him, based on his current behavior. “Diplomatic meetings in Altea are usual, we don’t act like old ladies.”

“Yeah, and you dare to tell me you’re distant while you’re literally  _ cradling  _ me in your arms?” Keith giggled and snuggled closer to Lance, showing that he didn’t mind being affectionate at all.

───────

Keith and Shiro were anxiously waiting for Kolivan to return. Him and his Blades went on a mission about a month ago and it was impossible to contact them. King’s communicators couldn’t reach the farthest regions of the country, causing Keith to grow more and more concerned. He tried to persuade his parents to make him go on this mission, but of course, “you’re too young, Keith”.

He was sure that contacting the Blades with him around would be easier, as he could use Pidge’s communicators that had range way better than the old Marmoran ones. Still, it didn’t convince his parents, which he thought was ultimately stupid, because now nobody knew where Kolivan actually  _ was. _

Nobody could help Keith destress, not even Lance, who was coming nearly every day to cuddle with him. It temporarily soothed him, but he always came back into worrying.

“We should contact Pidge,” he said, turning to Shiro, whose impression showed that he clearly disapproved of this idea. “Don’t look at me like that! You  _ know  _ we have to do it, it’s been thirty four days today and we haven’t heard from them. I don’t know about you, but I’m  _ so  _ gonna confront everyone about it,” he stood up, knowing that both Takashi and Lance would disapprove. But, Takashi had nothing to say, he wasn’t his father and Lance, he wasn’t even around now, even though Keith would like him to be.

He furiously walked to the door, but stopped immediately when he heard some people talking, voices muffled because of the closed door. Keith opened it quietly, but didn’t look at the people, being caught was the last thing he wanted at that time.

“This is ridiculous, Kolivan! Being a general doesn’t mean you can make decisions like  _ this _ !” First voice, which Keith immediately recognized as his own father. Also, how come Kolivan returned and they didn’t know about it? “You can’t make them go on a meeting, they’re not experienced advisors, do you think they know anything about diplomacy?”

“Because you don’t let them go,” Kolivan answered calmly, but Keith heard a small hint of annoyance in his voice. He called Shiro to the door, so that they were both standing there, eavesdropping. “We have to discuss a few cases in Altea and I know you and Krolia are too busy to come, so I thought your sons could come instead,” Keith slightly jumped when Kolivan mentioned Altea. Now he knew they absolutely had to come this time.

“Do you think you can just hide things from us like that?” Keith decided to confront both of them, because nothing could happen to him anyways. “First, you hide the fact that the Blades returned, then you’re discussing things you should be discussing with both me  _ and  _ Takashi! Besides, there is nothing wrong with us going to Altea. It’s not for fighting, we  _ can’t  _ get injured while talking about diplomacy, also, Kolivan will be our guard, so we’ll be safe.” Keith calmed down, knowing that he won’t achieve anything by yelling at his father. “I don’t know about Takashi, but I’ve always wanted to go on a mission and you knew that. I’m eighteen, I can take care of myself. It’s not like I’m still a little kid,” he sighed, glaring deadly at Shiro, who laughed under his breath. “What’s so funny?”

“Are you sure you want to go on this mission to be near the Blades and not because it’s Altea, meaning Lance?” He whispered while their father and Kolivan began discussing the issue again.

“It’s both,” Keith whispered back, too embarrassed to deny it.

“Fine,” their father almost snapped, defeated. He knew it was only a matter of time to make him agree. “But, if something goes wrong, you’re  _ both  _ grounded!”

Takashi gasped for air, heavily placing his hand on Keith’s shoulder. Father had to be joking and Shiro could kill for it to be true, but King Shirogane was never kidding. But, to be honest, grounding an almost twenty seven years old Prince made literally no sense. What’s next? Setting some random guy on the throne, just because Shiro was spending time with Adam, instead of trying on some stupid suits he never actually liked. It happened once, but Takashi knew he’s got the throne guaranteed, not that it was the thing that mattered the most.

“You can’t just ground me, because Keith will mess something up!” He yelled, pointing at his brother, who fought the urge of hitting him.

“What did I do to you!? Jesus, you can bring Adam with you, so he can look after me, if it’ll let you sleep at night!” Keith snapped back, praying that he could still go to Altea, because that’s not an opportunity you’re given every day.

  
  
  


The journey to Altea took surprisingly little time, but Adam wished it could end even faster. He was forced to listen to Shiro and Keith arguing all the time. Well, it was obvious that Keith was angry for needing somebody to look after him. Adam found it useless, because this boy was an adult after all, he really knew how to care about himself, even though King refused to see it. Adam saw it clearly, but he had no influence in this Kingdom, but again, it was only a matter of time until he will. Hopefully, he will be ruling it with Takashi, both as King Shirogane… or Wright, they still hadn’t discussed it properly.

As soon as they all arrived, Kolivan hesitated before he knocked on the door. His more trusted Blades, Ulaz and Antok, looked at him like he was going absolutely insane. They all heard a noise from inside, sounding weird, because they were supposed to be of the earliest to come.

“We’re late, aren’t we?” Adam asked, coming closer. He saw Keith glancing at Shiro, because he assumed it was all his brother’s fault, because, come on! if he didn’t start his blaming shit, they would’ve been here half an hour ago.

“We can pretend that time is different in Marmora,” Shiro shrugged, following Kolivan to the entrance of the Castle.

Keith folded his arms behind his back, trying to remain as still and calm as possible, even if he was exploding on the inside. It hit him only now that he’ll be sitting by the same table with Lance for a few hours. Well, he wasn’t actually sure if Lance was actually attending these diplomatic meetings, as it was Keith’s first one ever.

“I think we’re ready to begin,” they heard King Alfor’s low voice coming from the ballroom, now converted to the dining area. “Kolivan! It’s good to see you, my friend. Old Shirogane still too busy to visit me?” King kept talking when he hugged Kolivan. Keith couldn’t erase the feeling that Alfor was a lot like Lance when he was excited.

“I see Shirogane finally came to his senses and let his sons come with you!” Alfor said again, ruffling Keith’s hair, who was trying to remain still, but cringed when his tiara almost fell down. He couldn’t risk it being broken, because it was after all a present from Lance.

Lance, who was now rushing towards him at an ungodly speed.

“Hey!” He yelled, hugging Keith that much he pinned him to the ground. It was weird, having a pretty boy like Lance this close to yourself, but Keith couldn’t complain. “I missed you! You told me you will send letters,” Lance pouted, hugging Keith even tighter than before.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, returning the embrace. “I got worried about Kolivan and couldn’t think about writing,” he said, ashamed of himself. Lance got off of Keith, so they were sitting on the floor. The rest of the people by the table looked at them weirdly, but as long as Keith was with Lance, he didn’t care about anything.

“No, Keith!” He emphasized the ‘e’, poking his friend’s shoulder. “I don’t want you to blame yourself for that! It’s fine, I would be worried sick if I was you,” he pouted, but then smiled, helping Keith get up.

Diplomatic meetings weren’t interesting, but being around Blades and Lance, on the other hand, was. Kolivan discussed things with Alfor, occasionally throwing some jokes about King Shirogane. Keith felt like it was far away from what he imagined it to be. Nothing particularly unusual happened, it was the same as dinners at home, with a little difference – talking about stuff that was going to make all the kingdoms better and far more stable. Then, all of a sudden, Keith felt a gentle brush over his hand.

“Come on,” Lance whispered, losing interest in what his father was saying long ago. His older sister, Allura, would be ruling after their parents retire, so it was no need for Lance to pay attention to this stuff. His sister, on the other hand, was really fond of sitting there and listening to the others, so she completely forgot that Lance was still here. “Hey?” He bumped Keith’s palm with his own, trying to break him out from thoughts. Keith couldn’t catch the obvious suggestion, so Lance simply intertwined their fingers with a smile. “Don’t worry, nobody will see. Except, I don’t think you care about it,” he winked, squeezing Keith’s hand tighter. “I’m actually impressed that your father let you come. I happened to hear a lot about him. He doesn't seem to be this chilled type of guy, unlike you, if I’m being honest.”

“Well, thank you, Lance,” Keith chuckled slightly, then moved to the rest of his statement. “And, yeah, we kind of convinced my father to let us go. But it was under one condition, Adam, you know, Prince Wright, had to come with us to prevent us from doing something inappropriate. I think Takashi told dad about it earlier, because he just wanted to spend more time with Adam!”

“That’s… interesting,” Lance leaned on the table, placing his cheek on the palm of his free hand. “I’m glad you came here, it’s nice seeing you smile again!” His genuine tone made Keith literally melt right there and then. Lance was an impossibly sweet and caring human and Keith was glad to have him around all the time.

The rest of the meeting went in a great atmosphere, especially for both Keith and Lance. They ended up talking about a lot of random, unrelated to diplomacy stuff, but nobody paid attention to them anyways. Keith could spend these few hours just being there and admiring Lance’s perfect features, trying not to stare at him too intensely, because being considered a creep was the last thing he wanted then. Still, Lance was showing his cute and caring side more, endlessly rubbing his thumb over Keith’s hand, trying to make sure that he’s comfortable.

He also gave Keith this little communicator he told Pidge to build. It was an extremely small device, built using aluminum, so it was also pretty light and easy to carry around. Lance figured out that this way of communicating would be better than letters, because the messages were being received immediately. Lance told him that he’s way too impatient to wait a few hours for the letter to arrive. He didn’t, on the other hand, mention the fact that he literally  _ begged  _ Pidge to make the coms, because everyone knows she’s a master in technology stuff. Besides, Lance would most likely set her lab on fire by just touching something, but he decided Keith didn’t have to know about that.

───────

Everyone has been preparing for the famous dance in Olkarion for  _ weeks  _ now. It was the most important party of the whole year, always happening somewhere between March and April. It was a kind of celebration for the beginning of Spring, as the Olkari Kingdom was the one most connected with nature. Everyone from the country was always invited, because keeping friendships and good relationships with other kingdoms was also a part that couldn’t be avoided.

A party was big to the point that most of the people came there and returned back home unnoticed, but not when they were the Holts’ friends. Then, the royal family was always paying attention, simply because Pidge and Matt loved to have people they liked close, especially during the whole country party. None of the young members of royalty was fond of having  _ this _ many humans around them in one go, but that couldn’t be helped.

Let’s quickly state one fact. Keith  _ hated _ being in crowded places of any kind. It didn’t matter if he was in town, in the ballroom during the usual family dinner, the meeting after the Blades’ return or any kind of ball. He wanted to spend time on his own, or with his closest friends, sometimes with Takashi and Adam, if he was feeling like this, but definitely not in the ballroom filled with random people he didn’t even know. Balls were filling his whole body with anxiety, that’s why he was always escaping, either with his friends or just all alone.

But now he was standing right in front of the mirror in one of a few guest rooms in the Holts’ Castle. His dark crimson jacket was buttoned up to his neck, making him cringe every time he was about to slightly turn his head. He didn’t care about his outfit at all, but Takashi insisted that his brother had to look the best for the most important event of the year. Him and Adam spent almost an hour choosing the most fitting clothes for Keith, not minding his disagreements at all.

“Are we ready to head out? The party has already started,” Takashi said, sitting on his brother’s bed and swinging his feet like a toddler. Watching Keith adjusting his clothes got bored after about five minutes and now Shiro was just impatiently waiting until they would be finally good enough to go.

“No,” Keith replied, cursing under his breath when he struggled with the sleeve buttons. He wasn’t going to let anyone see him like  _ this, _ because something was definitely off.

“Oh, come on!” Adam chimed in, hugging Takashi from behind. “Let us have some fun!”

“I’m not going, but you can do it anytime, though,” he lifelessly plopped down on the floor, probably messing up the back of his shirt completely. “You’ve gotta have some free time before you get married, old men,” he laughed slightly, but still unwilling to leave the room.

“I thought you’re not longer any panicking gay in front of Lance?” Takashi said, leaning heavily towards his brother, almost falling down the bed.

“Because I’m not! Still, it doesn’t mean I will go and make a complete fool of myself in front of the whole country,” he almost whispered, hugging his knees to his chest like when he was younger and tried not to shout at Takashi (he was failing most of the time, but it didn’t matter at that time). “You both just don’t understand this! I can’t just have this and—!” His statement got brutally interrupted by someone quickly slamming the door open.

“Are you coming or what?  _ Pidge  _ is asking about you,” Lance pointed at Keith, using the secret code in which ‘Pidge’ meant ‘Lance’ and ‘asking’ meant ‘is worried sick someone come and stop him, preferably Keith’. “Come on, we’re all waiting, ‘cause you’re the only one who’s still in the room!” He grabbed Keith’s hand and intertwined their fingers together. The Marmoran Prince glanced at his brother right before he was pulled to the corridor.

The look on Shiro’s face was extremely difficult to describe. It was like a hint of annoyance mixed with a spoonful of astonishment, also a very tiny bit of curiosity and weird happiness. Him and Adam were staring each other deeply in the eyes before they both jumped up and ran to the ballroom, as the ‘older brother’ and ‘older brother-in-law’ senses kept telling them something important was about to happen and they didn’t feel like missing  _ any  _ of it.

“Finally,” Lance laughed, quickly getting rid of his black gloves, placing them somewhere on the table, at the same time telling Hunk to look after them. Lance could have a date at that time, but that didn’t mean he was going to leave his gloves without any kind of protection. “I’m finally gonna get that dance!” He pulled Keith to the center of the ballroom, several dozen feet away from Shiro and Adam, who were both casually swinging around to the calm music the band was playing.

“Are you always this tense?” Lance asked, genuinely worried. Keith clinged closer to him, this close he was practically melting with the other boy’s skin perfectly. He refused to talk for a while, enjoying the moment as long as he could. “Come on, it’s not like it’s our first time hugging!” He tried to stop himself from cooing slightly, but it was literally unavoidable while looking at Keith like this.

“It always feels like the first time with you,” he answered sincerely, completely unbothered by the fact that they were still standing, drawing an extreme amount of attention at themselves. “Every day we meet you’re like a completely different person.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Lance shrugged it off, not knowing how he was supposed to act after Keith told him about  _ such a thing.  _ He had a high self esteem, but Keith proved to him that it’s actually possible to make him speechless for a while, which was undoubtedly a nice thing, since Lance would be talking for  _ hours _ . Not that Keith didn’t enjoy Lance’s voice, but it really could be too much sometimes. “I’ve been waiting for this to happen for  _ months  _ now,” he stated, pulling Keith closer and slowly beginning to move around, but not too much, because he still had no idea what it was going to end like.

“It’s not like you haven’t danced before,” Keith said, trying to adjust his steps to Lance’s pace, but it turned out harder than he thought. Lance was a lot different from Adam, yet his moves were definitely less forced. Adam was a great teacher, indeed, but he lacked this natural grace Lance had. Even for Keith, who had hardly any experience with dance, Lance’s moves felt like he was born on the dancefloor. His soft, warm hand on Keith’s back, a smile that could end wars plastered to Lance’s face, it all summing up to the perfect boy’s image.

“Well, I haven’t with you!” He argued, preparing himself to turn Keith around, even if he had just learnt how to  _ move  _ in the right way. “I’m not blaming you, but just so you know, I  _ really  _ wanted to dance with you this whole time, but kinda… didn’t have guts to ask you anymore?” He would be definitely scratching the back of his neck in an awkward manner, but he was holding Keith and couldn’t let go, especially if he didn’t want the other boy to fall down.

“I’m supposed to be the nervous one,” Keith laughed, tripping on his own shoes, but pretended it didn’t happen at all. “Not that I’m complaining!” He excuses himself quickly as soon as Lance looks at him with an unsure expression. Keith was none of a nervous person, he simply wasn’t used to Lance’s behavior, just like everyone else the boy was meeting in his life.

They were slowly moving around at the dancefloor, a few times slower than the music was playing. Pidge was endlessly glancing at them, dancing with her brother, though it looked more like some strange movements you’re doing when you’re overly excited about something, but they were having fun and nobody was there to stop them from it. Everyone seemed to hear their own music in their heads, somehow sharing it with their partners, probably because of all the leading. The band could be as well completely nonexistent, but it still gave pleasant vibes to the whole situation, making it even better than it was before.

Lance stopped paying attention to everyone else beside Keith. He never thought he would end up like this, with the Marmoran Prince in his arms, dancing during the most important ball of the year, in his best friend’s family castle. Lance imagined it a lot, since they’ve met, actually, but it was never this intense. The vibes he’d been sensing from Keith were far more than whatever Lance could ever think of. He was much softer than he was rumored to be. Lance just  _ knew  _ Keith was showing him his true self, even if he didn’t actually have anything to compare. Keith was being overly adorable at that exact moment, his dance moves not so bad after all.

“I’m hungry,” he stated randomly, letting out a weak laugh. He had no idea that dancing could be tiring to the point that he would be struggling with saying only a few words.

“Shush, you’re ruining the moment,” Lance replied, then leaned closer, feeling like the whole room began to disappear. It was only him and Keith in the middle of nowhere, several inches away from each other, both swaying back and forth, too scared to make any particular move towards the other one. Lance thought he wouldn't hesitate when it would finally happen, but Keith’s aura remained somehow intimidating, making the Altean Prince literally frozen in place.

Lance’s urge was unstoppable. He looked Keith deep in the eyes, silently asking for permission, which the boy immediately gave him by a simple, weak nod. Both of them were unable to say a word, aware of the growing tension, though nobody other than them could sense it. Keith felt Lance’s hand go down to hold his waist tightly, bringing him even closer than he already was. Both of Keith’s arms flew on his partner’s shoulders only to merge together near his neck in a loose hug. The music in their ears was muffled, like if they were in a completely different room, maybe even in the garden, but yet they were still here, in the ballroom, facing each other.

Lance couldn’t hesitate any longer. He whispered something similar to “thank you”, before connecting his own lips to Keith’s ones. It probably shouldn’t feel this natural, but still, it did and Lance would lie if he said he didn’t like it. He loved it to the point he forgot how to breathe, but only for a couple of seconds, so it didn’t affect the whole scene that much.

Keith’s eyes shut at the moment he realized something. Lance tasted sweet, like strawberries and champagne, but he definitely wasn’t drunk. His lips were soft, gently brushing against Keith’s. He was melting against all the touch, feeling everyone’s eyes slowly turning to them. Still, it didn’t bother him, as he had the best boy in front of him,  _ kissing him,  _ so everyone else could as well go and screw themselves if they had something against it. Keith came closer, making Lance lean down a little more, to make them both comfortable.

Lance’s hands, now warmer than before, were tracing Keith’s back and mindlessly drawing soothing circles on it. Keith was waiting for it to happen for some time, but he wouldn’t make a move, too scared that maybe he was reading all the signs wrong. Now it was nothing to fear, nothing to care about other than Lance, the Lance that has always been there whenever Keith needed him, the flirty guy who happened to be the softest creature on Earth, the Lance that has now started the new chapter in his own book of life.

When they finally stepped aside, they could hear everyone cheering, which caused Lance to smile uncontrollably. Keith paid attention to him more than before, to all of these little wrinkles that formed on Lance’s nose whenever he was grinning like this. Also,  _ dear God _ , his freckles. They were painted all over the taller teen’s face, giving it an absolutely soft look. Everything in Lance was perfect, Keith was going to fight anyone who dared to disagree on that. But he was speechless, even more when Lance opened his mouth to talk.

“I love you, you may have not realized it, but I’ve done for a long time,” he whispered right into Keith’s ear, flustered. Seeing Lance like this was new, but pleasing. He was biting his bottom lip, cooping Keith’s hands in his own, like if he was scared that the other prince would just turn around and walk away. Nothing like this could ever happen, Keith’s been doomed since the day he met this particular Altean and he didn’t plan on leaving him under absolutely  _ any  _ circumstances. Lance was like an angel sent to Earth, making the Marmoran’s heart beat faster and faster each day.

And yes, Lance has been another person each day. Keith was meeting a new part of his personality every time and it felt awesome, like exploring a completely unknown land. He had no idea where he was going, but Lance was familiar. This strange familiar Keith was unable to explain logically, but it was true. Presents didn’t matter, as the only true present Keith had ever obtained was somebody like Lance Serrano in his life.

“I do, too,” he said, smiling the widest in his whole life.

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> it was quite an experience, this fic  
> big kudos to my mom who knew what a frill is  
> this work wouldn’t happen without her
> 
> CATCH ME ON TUMBLR VIA @ loverboy-spritz OR ON TWITTER @ loverboyspritz


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